About 19 returning Kagay-anons who were among more than a thousand stranded at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila are scheduled to arrive in Cagayan de Oro City within this week, the chief of Cagayan de Oro City Hall´s Operating Tabang LSI/ROFs said Monday noon, July 27.

Paul Douglas “Rocky” Calingin, asst. department head of the City Agricultural Productivity Office and head of Operation Tabang LSI/ROF, confirmed this amid Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno´s insistence that City Hall will have to level up in their processing and quarantine of LSIs/ROFs.

“You saw the photos of LSIs/ROFs jampacked at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex (in Manila). Imagine how much they suffered waiting for their flight or trip back home and think that they could be someone else´s loved one, friend or neighbor. Or they could be your family, friend or neighbor. So why would you reject them?” Mayor Moreno asked during Monday noon´s press briefing.

It had yet to be confirmed whether the 19 returning Kagay-anons are the last batch of Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) and Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs) that are scheduled to arrive in the city. But Mayor Moreno said City Hall´s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and the entire bureaucracy are hard at work ensuring their safe arrival.

“From the day they set foot on the airport, port area or bus terminal, our returning Kagay-anons are fetched, examined and brought straight to the city´s isolation units by our teams at City Hall. They do this every day at any time of the day from dawn to late at night. By caring for our own, we help ease the burden on our government,” Mayor Moreno said.